Episode 2:4 Carol Stratford on What Senior Living Can Learn from Luxury Resorts

Carol Stratford is a partner at Hutchinson Consulting, a leading executive search and consulting firm. She shares her experience strategizing for world class wellness resorts, and tips for senior living marketers to refresh their digital assets and personalize the sales process.

About Carol

Carol Stratford’s dynamic career in strategic marketing and public relations has allowed her to develop a widely recognized expertise in hospitality and wellness. She is a leader in her field, known for analyzing trends and forecasting sales to develop long-term strategies, key objectives and operational execution plans based on business best practices. She has achieved record breaking increases in profits and brand awareness for her clients through her experience beyond marketing and public relations --in customer service training, project management, e-commerce, relationship building, administration, and business development.

Because Carol began in public relations and then moved into marketing, she has a rare ability to understand the perception of a brand in the marketplace, and she has used her unique vision to help develop and deploy innovative marketing plans for some of the most successful brands in the industry, including Marriott, KSL Brands such as Miraval and The Homestead, Four Seasons, Casa de Campo, Six Flags and many more.

Carol’s current role as a Partner at Hutchinson Consulting has enabled the company to enter a new and exciting stage of growth.  She is an integral part of the team that is now expanding into the Senior Living industry, bringing relevant marketing and public relations expertise from hospitality and wellness into the field as it adapts to the increasingly youthful and active mindset of its target audience.

Key Takeaways

• Wellness programming treats the whole person with an emphasis on recovery and prevention.
• Programming that is holistic and highly customized is key to set your senior living facility apart.
• Marketing must appeal to both the resident and the children of the resident. Most senior living messaging does not speak to the needs of the families.
• The sales process should incorporate the “discovery process”—personalizing the experience for each prospect. Uncover the “sticky points.”
• The place to start with a marketing refresh is focus on your digital assets. Your website is your gatekeeper.
• Claim your Google Business Listing for search engine optimization (It’s free!)